Feverish Night
by 24vampiregirl
Summary: Occurs sometime soon after Eclipse. Bella heads to the Cullen house one hot night. Includes Bella and Carlisle bonding, as well as Edward pushing some of his boundaries, and of course, Edward and Bella fluff.


**_This is just a mix of ideas rolled into one oneshot. It contains Carlisle and Bella bonding, Edward pushing boundaries and Edward Bella fluff. This is directly from my imagination, so it probably does not flow as well as a normal story would. I hope you don't find it too confusing. _**

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I threw my duvet on the ground, frustrated, leaving only my thin sheet to cover me. I was wearing a tank top and small cotton shorts. This is Forks, for crying out loud! It isn't supposed to be warm, let alone boiling. I stared out my open window again, half expecting Edward to gracefully slide into my room any moment. I sighed. Edward wouldn't come tonight. He was out hunting with Emmett and Jasper. It was just my luck that the one night Charlie wasn't home, neither was Edward.

Of course Edward had said he would stay with me when Emmett and Jasper tried to drag him hunting with them, but I had all but dropped down to my knees and begged him to go. I had only the faintest idea of how much pain I must be putting him through as I watched his eyes turn black, the shadows underneath them growing so dark he looked like a human who hadn't slept in weeks. Though I had put on a brave face and kicked him out the door with his brothers, he didn't, and hopefully never would, know the pain I would suffer every moment without him. It was worst at night. Especially this night.

Every moment I wasn't with Edward I tried to avoid any time which would allow me to think. But as the night continued, the heat had somehow managed to increase, and I became further and further away from sleep. Growling to myself, I dragged my boiling body out of bed, grabbing the thinnest jacket I could find and stalking as carefully as I could manage down the staircase. Without bothering to lock the door, I ran through the darkness, feeling the way to my truck. Since there was no possibility of sleeping in this heat, I might as well go do something to keep my mind off Edward.

The load explosion of the engine as I turned the key in the ignition scared me. I locked the doors, driving faster to the Cullen's home than usual. I had to slow down as I started to leave town, squinting through the darkness, trying to find their all but invisible driveway. The truck sounded much too loud as I would slowly down the driveway, parking at the front of the house.

As soon as I cut the ignition, Alice was at my door, opening it for me. I jumped, all but falling out of my truck, throwing on the jacket. I wouldn't need it, but at least it saved me from the embarrassment of showing up, unexpected (well not totally unexpected; I'm sure Alice had seen me coming) in my pyjamas. I could feel my cheeks blushing as I realised I had forgotten to grab pants, leaving me in my small cotton shorts.

Alice grabbed my hand, leading me carefully up the stairs and into the house. As soon as we were inside I could immediately feel the cool air, feeling like heaven against my feverish skin. Alice dragged through the empty living room and up another flight of stairs, into Carlisle's office. Carlisle smiled expectantly from beside his dark mahogany desk.

"Rose, Esme and I were about to go out for a quick hunt around the park," she informed me cheerfully, "So stay here, and keep yourself out of trouble."

"Have fun," I said, my voice drowsy from a lack of sleep. She reached up to kiss me on the cheek, before disappearing out of the room. I then started to feel slightly awkward.

"I'm sorry I interrupted," I muttered, embarrassed, half turning towards the door. Carlisle was suddenly there, hugging me around the shoulders, leading me down the staircase to the main room.

"It's no problem at all, Bella, you know you are always welcome here, whether Edward is home or not." I smiled at him, my eyes drooping. He saw this, leading to the couch where I practically collapsed against the nice, cold leather. He sat down beside me, keeping his cool arm around my shoulder. The gesture was very comforting, a non-painful reminder of Edward. Within seconds I was out, finally falling asleep, Carlisle's arm still around me.

I woke up, shivering, though not because of the cold arm around my shoulders, but because of the horrific images that had formed in my head. I tried to shut down the pictures of the shrouded figures with blood-red eyes, but I couldn't make them leave. I hadn't noticed I was crying, or that my head had somehow ended up against Carlisle's shoulder, until he stroked my hair, anxious.

"Bella!" Carlisle's voice was full of worry, "Bella, what's wrong? Are you okay?" I tried to slow down my racing heart and control my breathing which came out as gasps.

"I'm fine. It was just a dream," I said faintly, more to myself than anyone. Though Carlisle's arm had cooled some of my boiling skin, I was still hot. My future father-in-law was still comforting me when someone entered through the door. Immediately my mood lit up as Edward darted through the door, running faster than the speed of light to sit down beside me.

"What's wrong?" he asked Carlisle, panicked, pulling me into his lap and wrapping his arms around me. Carlisle's answering voice was soothing and calm; I could see exactly how he was able to get people to look past the usual frightening nature the rest of his family had.

"Bella's fine, Edward, just a little too hot. She couldn't sleep, so she came here. She woke up just minutes ago, after sleeping for three hours, I might add." Edward blew a sigh of relief, still looking down at me. I leaned into his chest, welcoming the coolness. He kissed my forehead before leaning his cheek against my hair. Carlisle took it as his cue to leave, kissing me on the cheek and gliding towards the door.

"I've got some filing to do at the hospital, so I guess I'll see you tomorrow," He said friendly, though I could tell he was just trying to give Edward and me some space. I smiled at him, my eyes closing slowly. As soon as he left, Edward scooped me up gently in his arms, flying up the next few flights of stairs. I felt the recently familiar pillows behind my head as Edward placed me gently on his bed. He lay down next to me carefully, pulling me against him. I lay my face against his chest, trying to contact as much of his cool skin as possible. Throwing my jacket off the bed, I reached up to wrap my arms around his neck. More coolness.

Without thinking, I let my bare legs wrap around his. I could feel his body freeze beside mine. I'd once again crossed the careful boundaries he had drawn. Sighing, I started to move my legs away, the cool touch disappearing. Then he did sometime unexpected. I felt his cool hand against the underside of my knee, pulling it back into place. My heartbeat sped. This was not the behaviour he normally allowed, even with the scorching circumstances.

But I knew that if I wanted to stay in this position, I'd have to be good, so it surprised me when he lips suddenly crashed against mine. My arms moved from behind his head to entwine in his tousled hair, and I threw myself into the kiss with just as much enthusiasm as he had. His arm moved from behind my knee, trailing up my thigh, his fingers meeting the area between the hem of my shirt and my shorts before travelling up my waist. His other arm, without breaking the kiss wound around my stomach, pulling me up on top of his chest. For the first time that I could ever recall, I had to break the kiss, my breathing frantic as I desperately gasped for air.

"Sorry," Edward murmured in an angel's voice, gently pulling my hands from his hair so he could lift me off. My outburst was so loud it was almost embarrassing.

"NO!" I all but screamed, clutching my arms around his neck. He sighed, but didn't make an attempt to move me again. Instead he began making patterns on the small of my back with his fingers, waiting for my breathing to slow. After what seemed like hours of lying in content against Edward's inhumanly perfect body, my thoughts unscrambled and I was able to think logically.

"So why did you come home early," I asked him casually, though my heartbeat spoilt my attempt at casual conversation. Edward's lips mumbled from where they left a trail of kissed along my collarbone.

"Did you not want me to come home early?" He asked playfully, listening to the sound of my heartbeat pick up as his lips made their way up my throat to run along my jaw. He looked through his dark lashes up at me, his golden eyes mischievous. "I was under the impression you are enjoying my presence." It was hard to form a coherent response. His fingers had made their way down my waist, slowly tracing patters along my bare thighs. His chin lifting my eyes up to meet his, a smile forming on his face as my cheeks flushed. His eyes were the colour of light butterscotch. I sighed in relief; I couldn't bear him leaving anytime soon to hunt again.

"Are Emmett and Jasper still hunting, then?" I asked, more focused on the way his skin felt against my legs than the answer.

"I guess so," he added, not seeming bothered, "To say they got sick of my complaining would be an understatement. I didn't see the point in staying once I was...fed...especially not with you waiting for me." He smiled that crooked smile that made my heart stop beating in an instant. We were quiet for a long time. His hands continued to wander... caressing my face... tracing along my waist...lightly brushing along my legs...

"How are you feeling now?" he asked, confusing me for a second. I had, in truth, completely forgotten about the scorching night until now, but my body was now cooled from lying on Edward's chest.

"Perfect," I told him truthfully, though my eyes closed and I could feel my body slipping to sleep, fast. He gently rolled me off him, but kept both arms around my waist as he started humming my lullaby. I let the sweet music relax me, knowing I would be asleep in a few seconds.

"I love you" I murmured against his chest, kissing the hollow of his collarbone lightly.

"As I love you," he whispered back, her velvet voice sending me into a deep sleep.

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**_I really love doing short one-shots like this, so please feel free to give suggestions. _**


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